Stage 1: Early Sounds Checklist (Ages 1-2.5)

How to use this checklist: Mark the checkbox when your child can say the vehicle name (approximations like "ca" for "car" count!). Write the date they first said it. Track transfer words they're using in daily speech.

Stage 1 Vehicles

Vehicle	Sound	Transfers To (50+ words each)	Date
Car	/k/	cake, cat, kite, cookie, cup, come, can, call, coat	_________
Bus	/b/	ball, baby, book, bear, big, bike, bye, bath, bottle	_________
Taxi	/t/	top, tap, toy, toe, two, table, tower, take, tell	_________
Bike	/b/	ball, baby, book, bath, bottle, banana, bird, big	_________
Pickup Truck	/p/	pop, play, please, park, pat, push, pull, pie	_________
Mail Truck	/m/	mom, me, more, milk, mine, my, moon, make, map	_________
Garbage Truck	/g/	go, good, game, give, get, green, grow, girl, gate	_________
Dump Truck	/d/	dog, dig, door, down, do, dad, day, duck, dance	_________
Tow Truck	/t/	tap, top, toy, two, take, tell, time, turn	_________
Tractor	/t/	tap, top, toy, train, tree, try, turn, take	_________

✅ Normal at This Stage

"Ca" instead of "car" (approximations)
Inconsistent sounds (sometimes clear, sometimes not)
Prefers object words over people words
12-18 mo: 10-20 words
18-24 mo: 50+ words
24-30 mo: 200+ words, 2-3 word combos

⚠️ Seek Help If:

18 mo: Fewer than 10 words
24 mo: Fewer than 50 words
Lost previously mastered words
Frustrated when trying to communicate
Not responding to name by 12 mo

🎮 Quick Practice Games

Parking Lot: Line up toy vehicles. Name each. Drive to "parking spots."

Bus Stop: Use blocks as stops. Pick up stuffed animal passengers. Practice "on," "off," "go," "stop."

Taxi Delivery: Small toys are passengers. Taxi takes them places. Practice names + "in," "bye bye."

Dump Truck Loading: Load blocks, drive, dump them out. Practice "in," "go," "dump," "out," "more!"

💡 Parent Tip: Exaggerate your mouth movements when saying vehicle names. Babies learn by watching. "BUHHHH-sss. Bus!" Make it fun, not drill-like.

Ready for the next stage?
When your child uses 50+ words and starts combining 2-3 words
→ Speech milestones by age: what comes next

Keep going with Little Wheels

The phoneme transfer research — how 100+ vehicles map to speech sounds
Why vehicles work for speech development
More free printables — coloring pages, charts, and checklists
Talk & Listen — 300+ first words through vehicles, offline and ad-free

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🚗 Stage 1: Early Sounds Checklist

Stage 1 Vehicles

✅ Normal at This Stage

⚠️ Seek Help If:

🎮 Quick Practice Games